In what is being seen as the first sign of friction in ties between the Constitutional offices of the Lt. Governor and the elected Government, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Tuesday has instructed officials not to follow any direction that is not in keeping with established rules of business.
Though both Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi and the Chief Minister have been claiming in public that they shared cordial ties and were bound by the unity of purpose in developing Puducherry, it is significant that the Chief Minister convened an extraordinary meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Parida, department secretaries and other officials, to specifically seek ‘observance of procedure’.
Since assuming office in May, Ms. Bedi’s proactive steps, some of which unprecedented for an incumbent of the Raj Nivas, marked a people-centric and reform-driven approach that excited the public but in the nitty-gritty of governance also left the bureaucracy trapped between parallel power centres and caused unease among the Council of Ministers over the unilateral way in which some decisions were made, sources said.
Orders through Whatsapp
Mr. Narayanasamy is reported to have given a piece of his mind to the participants at the meeting and specifically given instructions to stop issuance of orders through applications such as Whatsapp. He directed that officials follow the laid down rules and regulations in moving files or taking decisions.
The Chief Minister and other ministers broadly outlined the rules laid out in the Rules of Business of the Government of Pondicherry 1963 mandated through a Presidential notification in exercise of the powers conferred by article 239 and the proviso article 309 of the Constitution.
Concurrence of LG
Sources said the Chief Minister told officials that the Lieutenant Governor’s concurrence was mandatory for 13 items listed in Rules of Business while other matters can be decided by the Council of Ministers.
According to the rules, cases which shall be submitted to the Administrator through the Chief Minister before the issue of orders, include those that raise questions of policy, which are likely to affect the peace and tranquillity, those that are likely to affect the interests of any minority community, SCs and Backward Classes and those which affect the relations of the Government of UT with any State Government or the judiciary.
“In essence, the considered view was that while the office of the Administrator could intervene and stop any matter within the clearly define purview, decision-making needs to emanate from Government and any file can be moved from the Secretariat only through established procedures,” a highly-placed source said.
Timings
Mr. Narayanasamy later told The Hindu , “Discipline is of paramount importance in administration. We told the officials to adhere to rules and other things strictly and advised them to follow the hierarchy in decision-making process.
We also reminded officers that it is the duty of every head of department to control the sub-ordinates and ensure proper functioning of administration. The officials were told to ensure the sub-ordinates to come to office on time.”
